An employee who works in the Experimental Equipment Lab (EEL) clean room, building drift chambers for the Hall B Torus, reported a repetitive trauma injury to Occupational Medicine recently.

Approximately two months ago, the worker began to develop right hand pain, which is attributed to crimping wires. Since then, the symptoms have increased. The worker has been diagnosed with carpal tunnel and tendonitis of the right hand and has been placed on medical restrictions that will affect the individual’s ability to perform routine job functions.

We've put a lot of attention on repetitive trauma in the last year as workers have been performing repetitive tasks such as pulling cable, crimping wires and tightening bolts for multiple hours a day.

Please remember if you are experiencing pain, report it to Occupational Medicine. Don't wait to see if the pain goes away. The sooner such symptoms are treated, the quicker you are pain-free, and the less likely you are to progress to a more serious condition.

Supervisors: Remember that it is your job to send workers to Occupational Medicine for evaluation, especially if they request task or job rotation due to a medical condition. Don't wait to see if the pain goes away. The sooner such symptoms are treated, the quicker your worker is pain-free, and the less likely it is to progress to a more serious condition.

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